President Bush now claims that intelligence shows we’re fighting Osama’s Al-Qaeda in Iraq. It’s his latest justification for the war: We either fight them in Iraq or in Illinois.

But who believes him? Bush and his cronies cooked the intelligence to get us into Iraq in the first place. Does he think we’ll believe him this time? Or is he just doctoring the facts again to support what he’s already decided?

This dishonesty – really, Bush’s bedrock contempt for the intelligence of Americans – is what has destroyed his credibility and eroded support for the war.

I concede he could be right about who we’re fighting. But Bush no longer has the standing he needs to persuade Americans that the sacrifice is worth it.

He is responsible, and he has no one to blame but himself.